Proposal to increase MBBS seats in medical colleges of J&K still a dream

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Jan 18: While government makes tall claims of improving the health infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir, but it mostly forgets to fully implement its policies.


Few years back, department of health and medical education had submitted a proposal to increase the number of seats in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in both the Government Medical Colleges (GMC) of Jammu and Srinagar from 100 to 150 per college.

The same was planned to implement from the next session, but till date nothing changed in the number of seats in MBBS.


Sources said that the Medical Council of India (MCI) teams have also conducted two inspections in both Medical Colleges of the state.


Similarly, in the GMC Srinagar, the teams had pointed out shortage of faculty in some streams. When the team visited second time the GMC Jammu had overcome all infrastructure deficiencies and that time the MCI team were satisfied on account of faculty, infrastructure and other facilities required for raising number of the seats.


It is pertinent to mention here that the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad, asked the MCI to consider increase in number of the MBBS seats in GMC of Jammu and Srinagar from 100 to 150 to benefit Medical aspirants as well as overcome shortage of doctors in rural areas.


For that the MCI had deputed its team to check the essential things included faculty, infrastructure and other required equipments for the smooth functioning system after increasing number of the MBBS seats in both Medical Colleges.


However, the said team had pointed out certain deficiencies in infrastructure in GMC Jammu. But, the team approved the number of faculty for increasing of number of MBBS seats from 100 to 150.


But till now no communication has been made by the MCI to revise the number to seats upto 300 in two GMC colleges of the state.


When contacted Minister for Medical Education, R S Chib said “The department has sent the proposal to the MCI to increase the number of seats in both the colleges”. 


Chib further stated that its upto the MCI to finalized the project and raised the seats from 200 to 300 in both GMC Jammu and Srinagar.